The Butterfly Effect REBUILT
by TheWorldTimeForgot
Summary: A completely revised and edited version of my OC Story the Butterfly Effect with a rewritten opening. This is the story of a young Boy, Luso, who was dragged onto the continent of Ylisse, and forced into the body of a Plegian Bandit named Matthew.
1. The Soothsires

**"I do not own a damn thing. Intelligent systems does."**

**This is it! The final Rebuild! You are always in my mind, my reviewers, and nothing, not even fate can stop this story! **

**Yeah, this is the Aforementioned Rebuild to the Butterfly Effect. After I break through the initial rewritten opening, I'll probably be able to speed up a bit. The first half of this chapter is pretty much the same, but the ending is different. After this chapter, everything will be brand new until Luso once again joins the Shepherds. After that it will speed up as I edit and revise my work, and then after I finish doing all of my previously written stuff, it will slow down once more. **

**Anyways Review, even if you hate this damn thing! I need the flames as much as the praise! And Slog through the traditional Self insert mechanism!**

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_"I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens."_

_― Woody Allen_

"Huh? Where am I?"

"You have died, and are awaiting judgment."

"Is there any reason why I don't have a body?"

"Did I forget to mention you died, Luke Heartwell?"

"Huh?"

"Luke Heartwell, half Chinese, captain of the Kendo team, plays the cello, don't think you can sneak out of this one. By lying or by skill you will not escape death. Get used to it. Cry all you want. Nothing is going to change. And if I hear a request for a chess board, you are going down."

"My name is Luso. That's not my name! There has got to be some mistake!"

"..."

"..."

The world reformed before him. The voice that had spoken was no longer a voice, but a youthful looking business man. In his right ear was a small dark blue earpiece and in his left hand was a small tablet computer.

At the same time, his own body was being formed from the dust surrounding the area. Piece by piece came together and formed into a new whole. When his eyes were formed he could see. When his arms and legs were made he could walk and clench his fists. The body he had was new, and completely alien to him. It was strange.

The man sighed and fiddled with his tablet. Without a hint of emotion, he said. "Explain yourself, Luke or Ludo, or Luso, or whatever your name is."

"Can you explain why it took so long to get me a body first?" The boy said with a snarl.

"Don't be arrogant, in thinking you are alive mortal. All that is, is a spiritual body, I can dispel it in a blink of an eye. I need to see your body to read your body language, I don't want to make a hasty judgment. Repeat what you said, and don't think about escaping."

"My name is Luso, Luke is a boy from my school, Although I once practiced the saber, as well as martial arts. I don't play the cello but I do play the Violin."

The businessman was silent, scouring for any trace of the boy lying. Unable to find a single one, he snapped and shouted angrily. "You're lying!"

"I'm not! Admit it when you make a mistakes!" Luso said indignantly.

"Oh? And a human is lecturing me? Like you haven't done anything like this before!"

"You're sending an innocent to the afterlife! I a human! Jerk! I DIED because of you."

"You think that's bad huh? Death?" The businessman shouted. "I'm going to get fired because of you! My boss is going to use the sickle that I use to reap souls on me!"

"Wait you REAP souls? You're a grim reaper?"

"Angel of death is the corre-"

Luso burst into laughter. "The grim reaper, wears a pinstriped suit, and is worried about his boss killing him!"

The man started to grow red in the face and shouted, "This is no time to be joking around fool! I'm going to lose my job, and you are already dead! What are you going to do about my job?"

Luso shrugged and rolled his eyes. "There is no need for anyone to know about this, you know. You could probably stick my soul back into my body. "

"Are you really going to be flippant with death? My lord in heaven, make the humans more polite! The problem is, Luke Heartwell was supposed to die in a car accident!"

"I don't have a license! I'm fifteen! My parents didn't want me to get a permit!"

"That isn't the problem nitwit! The problem is that you have a prearranged death, and I already set it up. Here! I'll show you!"

The reaper snapped his fingers, and the pure white scenery changed to an image of a street. His mother's sedan was smashed into a blue Prius, the front bumper crumpled. The window in front of the driver was shattered, apparently from the driver being thrown from the vehicle, and the broken glass lay across the front side of the broken car.

Lying cold next to a tree smeared with flesh and blood was an almost unrecognizable corpse. Luso covered his mouth in dismay before starting to cry.

The reaper tapped his tablet's display twice before rattling off a bunch of statistics. "Head turned back 176 degrees, arms broken, ribs crushed, broken and scattered into various organs, heart and spleen ruptured, and digestive tract exploded. Although I can place a soul in a body, that thing isn't going to hold one any time soon."

In reaction, Luso turned around and yanked the reaper's tie. The blue silk tie was made of the finest materials. Even under the huge amount of pressure it was under it only stretched and didn't snap.

"Hey stop it! Stop it! You're choking me big guy! I can put your soul into a new body, stay calm!" The reaper said frantically.

"Calm! You sent my body driving in a car at god knows what speed-

"184 miles per hour. Without a seat belt." The reaped interrupted.

"And made it look like that! And you want me to be calm!" The boy roared. He drew his hand back to punch the reaper in the face, but before he could the man started to protest again.

"Like I said! Wait! Just stick around with me, and when a millionaire or someone like that is assigned to me I can stick you in his body. I know you want your body back, but that's impossible. I'll do my best for you, okay?"

Luso hesitated for a second before loosening his grip on Death's shirt. Then he decided that despite the efforts that the servant of god was making, he still deserved to be punched.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses would you?" The reaper said while slipping on a pair.

Luso's grip on the reaper's collar tightened.

"Oh you would. You dirty, rotten, ungrateful moron! "

"I am not ungrateful!"

"Then let me go! I'll get you the greatest body!"

For a few minutes Luso and the reaper struggled. Then the reaper's headset vibrated softly.

"Hold up, I got to take this call."

Luso backed away, and waited as the Reaper started to pale, stutter and mumble as he spoke with the person on the phone.

"We have a problem."

"What!?"

"Inspection, my boss declared a random inspection of the workers to make sure we aren't soul smuggling."

"What is the punishment?"

"A thousand years of suffering. And I lose my job. Oh my God, I'm going to get fired."

"They can replace grim reapers that easily?"

"There are more reapers than you can count. We do have to manage every death. I can be replaced as fast as a burger flipper. My job just pays better, and I get dental, don't forget dental."

"When is the inspection?"

"At lunch time. I have three possible candidates for you to chose from before inspection starts. Keep in mind that I have to take them in the manner recorded."

Luso covered his face with his hands.

"Alright tell me"

The reaper searched through his pockets and pulled out a Smartphone. He scrolled through a list on the screen and said, "Your options are a homeless man, who gets stabbed in the street, a citizen of the red light district who... Let's skip that option actually. There is a third option but the world that particular death is in is completely different."

"Those aren't really great options. What is the third?" Luso said with a frown.

"You mentioned you can wield a sword right?"

"Yeah, I can."

The angel of death sighed, and said "Then you have a chance, there is a bandit who died from a fever in the parallel universe of Ylisse. It's an medieval world, and on the brink of war. If you want I can give you that body but there will be a huge culture shock. No electricity, less technology, so on so forth."

Luso nodded, "Will I be able to speak the language?"

"Yes, if the previous person was able to then you will. All the information transfers."

"I'll do it."

"I'll get the necessary materials. I'll send you there, check out the body."

Space and time were once again warped, inverted and broken to pieces. The road on which the lost soul was standing on vanished and was replaced by a rudimentary base on the forest, if it could even be called that. The camp was a series of tents were haphazardly placed around a series of trees, Luso drifted into one tent in particular, the healer's tent. A skinny, brown-haired man was gasping in pain, his face completely red from heat. The man groaned slightly and rolled on his side. He looked strong and healthy enough, if one ignored all of his contortions of agony, but all the strength in the world was useless against a disease.

"Is this the one?" Luso pondered to himself as he looked at the bandit's body.

"I hear voices, but I can see no one... could it be... A god? Lord Grima? Accursed Naga? Is it you? Am I going to die? Does it hurt? Please, my god, make it quick! I... I don't want to..."

"Don't worry it isn't so bad." The grim reaper said while materializing into the dimension.

"Reaper!" Luso said with alarm. The man had come holding a sword as long as he was tall. The jet-black blade shimmered in the dusky light, as the reaper raised it above the bandit's head.

"Rest in peace, Matthew. You have done enough for Plegia. Your friends in a few weeks will make us work overtime on the Ylissians."

Then he brought the blade down upon the man's body. As the blade passed through the man's body a wispy white light emerged from his chest. For a single brief second he and the dead man's saw each other face to face, before it vanished into the air.

Luso raised his hand and touched the dead man's face, his ethereal fingers piercing through the corpse.

"How come he died so peacefully, and I died like that?"

The reaper glared at Luso for a few seconds and turned away. "It was the way he was to die." Death said as he removed a small marble from his front pocket.

"What is that?"

"This is an Aum crystal. It disturbs a body's reaction to a spiritual presence so your soul doesn't get spit out within two seconds. Don't worry, you won't have to live with it, the body will get accustomed to a parasite soul after all. So after a while, the body will learn to put up with your leaching off it, and stealing it's vital-"

"Can you please not speak of me like a flea or something?" Luso said with a grimace.

"You are at best a parasite, but fine."

The reaper slipped off the Matthew's shirt and pushed it into the man's chest. A quarter of the dark blue crystal poked out of the man's chest after it was inserted. After it was, Luso touched the crystal with his forehead. His ethereal form was sucked into the crystal, and once again Luso had control of a body.

Now the first experience he felt in the body of the bandit was pain. It was a track record Luso had no intention of keeping. Unfortunately for him, it was to be something that would be following him around his entire god damned life. The fever that had killed its host still raged within the body causing nausea and vomiting. Stepping over a pool of vomit, the Reaper touched Luso on his back. A dark blue wave of energy rippled across his back, killing the pathogens

"That's the last favor I can do for you Luso, Here's a tip. Don't focus on things like walking and the like. The previous owner already has it down. The more you concentrate the harder it gets."

Luso nodded in thanks as he watched the ethereal spirit vanish into thin air. With the sickness gone he was feeling better, but waves of nausea were still reverberating in his body. For about two minutes he stared into the tent ceiling wondering what he was going to do now in the strange new world. During the midst of his pondering a boy his age ran quickly into the medical tent. He wore a cloak like magicians in old stories or videogames and somehow seemed oddly familiar.

The magician, for the lack of better terms, smiled cheerily and said. "Hey Matt, how are you feeling? I ran back as fast as fast as I found medication for your sickness. "

"I'm feeling better Isaac. I think I am all cured actually." Luso said nonchalantly. "See? No fever!"

Then he processed what he just said. How did he know him?

"Wait one second? Where am I? Who are you?"

"Damn, Matt, just calm down and look at my face. Do you remember me?"

"Isaac." Luso said. "You-"

"Good to see that the trauma from a disease didn't make you forget everything." Isaac said. "Now can you remember what we are a part of?"

Luso tried his hardest to access the parts of his memory that was Matthew's, search into the things the previous owner of his body remembered, but it was too difficult. Despite the fact he could speak the language, some parts of his mind were blocked off from him as if Matthew's soul itself barred the way.

"We're umm..."

"The soothsire bandits." Isaac said with a grin. "The ones who bring justice down to the land that wronged us, Ylisse. "

Isaac handed a small brown bottle to Luso. "Anyways Matt, drink this up. Even if you feel recovered, you could have traces of the disease still in you."

Luso took the bottle, and swallowed. It tasted absolutely foul but he appreciated the gesture. At least he knew he would have one person looking out for him in this strange world. The boy fell back asleep fairly easily, drifting in and out of the world of dreams. Every morning, Isaac would enter the tent and hand Luso a few pieces of bread, and occasionally a bowl of soup or stew. They would talk, and then Isaac would eventually leave to go do whatever he did. During those times, Luso walked around and tried to regain whatever strength he had. The bandit was very physically fit, yet some parts of his body were sore and tense from a combination of the illness and from disuse. But after three days, Luso felt much stronger, and ready for anything.

On the fifth day, Isaac came into the healer's tent as he usually did, but this time, another man accompanied him.

"So how's he doing?" The other man said.

"He's apparently feeling alright, but give him a few days to recuperate." Isaac said.

"Really now? Haha! That medicine must be mighty fine stuff." The man laughed. "Do you think you're healthy enough to go a few rounds with me?"

"Leader," Isaac said. "Matthew is still fairly sick, it may be better for him to rest a few more days."

"I believe that is up to him." The apparent 'leader' of the bandit group said. "Come on! We'll be sparring soon. Pair up with Garrick this round. If you can last a few minutes against him, you should be able to join us on our next raid. You may say its unfair, or harsh, but if you can't at least put up a good fight here, you'll die the next time you fight. "

"Understood." Luso said, as he dragged himself out of bed.

The walk to the training area from the healer's tent was short for obvious reasons. In fact they only walked around two or three tents to reach the training area if it could even be called that. All it was in essence, was a small clearing, filled with sweaty men.

"Matthew!" One of the bandits shouted. "Good to see you up! Come on, train with me."

The man grabbed Luso by his shoulders and pulled him away to an open area. He picked up a small practice axe and a wooden sword off of the ground and handed the sword to the boy.

As Luso grabbed the weapon and swung it a few times he said, "Ah, leader told me to spar with Garrick. Know where he is?"

The man snickered. "So you're going to fight Number two? Ah good luck, not being sent back to the healer's tent."

"What?" Luso asked.

Then he turned around and saw a giant of a man. The man had small amounts of stubble on his square chin, and dabs or red war paint drawn underneath his eyes.

"So Matt, ready to go a few rounds? Or will you just do one, like you usually do?" Garrick smirked. "You want to use weapons or not?"

"Let's not." Luso handed his wooden sword over to one of the brigands spectating the battle. Garrick's 'training' weapon happened to be covered with a thin sheen of dried blood. For obvious reasons, Luso was wary of being hit by such an object.

"Good." The bandit cracked his knuckles and dropped into a boxer's crouch. "Prepare yourself."

The two stared at each other for a few brief seconds before Garrick lunged forward with a right hook for the first attack. Luso blocked the attack head on with his forearm. Big mistake. The impact of the blow alone made it feel like his bone was bending, though it was in reality just hit, very, very hard.

As Luso cringed in pain, Garrick attempted a sucker punch towards Luso's temple. Learning from his mistakes Luso ducked under this blow, instead of futilely trying to block it. Garrick was a brutal fighter, one who tended to smash his opponents as hard as possible, but that also meant that he swung with more force than he could control. If his wild swings missed, then he would over exert himself and end up throwing himself off balance. When he missed the last swing he ended up tripping slightly, knocking him off guard. Luso exploited this moment by circling around the bandit and going for a straight under the ribs.

Unfortunately, when his attack impacted, Garrick didn't even seem to care, after all the only thing that he hit with the attack was hard muscle, not bone or any particular sensitive joint.

Garrick whirled around and smashed Luso's cheek with the back of his fist. Luso collapsed to his knees from the impact, and felt his head lighten up slightly. For whatever reason it didn't really hurt as much as it made his head ring.

Still light headed, the mercenary swept his foot around in an attempt to trip the bandit. However as kicks involve a precise transfer of weight, and are far more difficult to execute under pressure, all Luso managed to do was slip on his own foot, and haphazardly kick Garrick's testicles.

Roaring with anger, Garrick grabbed his practice axe and brandished it at Luso.

"Matthew..." The bandit cringed. "You are going to pay for this."

"It was an accident!" Luso protested.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Matt, catch!" A green haired archer shouted, while throwing a wooden sword that happened to fall by Luso's feet. "You're going to need this."

"Thanks Tomas!" Luso replied as he grabbed the sword. Again, the name just came to his lips without even thinking! He would have to speak with that bandit later.

With a loud crack, Luso's sword struck against Garrick's axe. Garrick raised his weapon again, infuriated that he had not harmed the swordsman with his last blow.

Luso on the other hand almost buckled from the impact of the mutual clash. The axe man was stronger than he was, and Matthew had been lying in a bed for a week, making his body weaker then it normally would have been. Yet he still did not yield. Enraged, Luso swung his sword wildly, attempting to land any hit he possibly could. Garrick blocked two strikes with the handle of his axe forcing him to refrain from attacking, but winced when he took a glancing blow to the shoulder. Roused up by this apparent success Luso pressed on his attack lashing out at his enemy again and again, until he was interrupted by a massive war cry and an axe swing that nearly missed his face.

As such when Luso attempted to block a second time his sword was knocked out of the way.

As soon as his sword was deflected, Luso leaped back to exit Garrick's attack range. His head was pounding and his heart was beating loudly within his chest. The swordsman stood cautiously, and pointed the tip of his sword towards Garrick's throat. Despite his overwhelming disadvantage when it came to strength, he had a sword while Garrick had an axe, and that theoretically gave him an advantage in reach. Then the axe came hurtling towards him at a speed that Luso never expected. The wooden weapon knocked the breath out of him. Luso collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. The damn axe man had thrown his damn weapon!

Garrick grinned as he picked up his axe and raised it over Luso's head, and was in mid-swing when he heard the sound of applause.

"That was magnificent." The leader of the bandits said as he walked onto the sparring field. "Garrick, this is your victory."

"Yes, leader." Garrick said.

"And Matthew, you handled yourself well. You may have fought dirty, but we're bandits. What do you expect?"

"I lost." Luso gasped.

"Garrick is the strongest one among us." Leader said. "You lasted just as long as you normally did. I think it's safe to say that you're recovered to the point of earning your keep again."

"But sir!" Isaac ran onto the field. "Matthew might still be sick! At least give him two more days to rest, so that we can be sure he's recovered!"

"I see that he's ready, I say he's ready, so he's ready." Leader snorted. "If you want to make sure he's safe, then you can tag along with him like you always do. Can't see why you need to follow him around though. The kid's got a good head on his shoulders."

"We work well together Sir." Isaac said.

"I get it." Leader said. "Garrick, we're hitting the town Ludia next. The initial strike team this time will be Tomas, Isaac, Matt, you, and me. Get the boys to pack up the camp, and move. The Ylisseans might start sniffing around here, especially after that last raid."

"Sir." Garrick saluted. "What time is the raid?"

"In two days, one day to set up camp, and the other for the men to rest." Leader said. "Now move! I expect the tents packed up in one hour and us moving in two."

"But Captain! We're tired." One of the bandits complained.

"Fine," leader replied. "One hour to rest, and we'll move in two."

Much to Luso's confusion the other bandits started cheering. Was this what the rest of his days were going to be like?


	2. Loss of Innocence

**No cause justifies the deaths of innocent people. **

**Albert Camus.**

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The march had been more than Luso had expected. Luso guessed that the pack on his shoulders weighed fifty maybe sixty pounds, but Matthew could have been more accustomed to heavy weights. Either way, it was him marching across narrow paths in the forest and getting tangled up by vines and the like and he didn't enjoy it one bit. The next day was even worse, as Luso jogged alongside Tomas, Isaac, Garrick, and leader in their approach to a simple village just before dawn. This time it was not bothersome due to encumbering weight, but because of the uneasiness that Luso felt coiling in his stomach. It didn't help that the almost full moon was hidden partially behind the clouds, resulting in the vines or rocks along the trail to be invisible in the darkness.

The uneasy thoughts in his mind were banished however when Leader motioned for Luso to slide up directly next to the village's stone walls.

Leader unstrapped a steel lance from his back, and motioned for the rest of the small group to stay next to the village gates and prepare for combat. Luso strapped on a worn, dented, triangular shield on his left shoulder. Excluding his leather jerkin, which had small pieces of platemail woven into the material, it would be what would protect him through the battle. Luso would have complained somewhat, about how the shield was only slightly larger than his head, but after seeing Garrick and a few of the others go into combat wearing nothing but animal skins, the mercenary realized that he was in no position to protest. His fingers drifted over his iron sword, lingering over the leather grip. Hopefully he wouldn't need it today.

"Remember, while they are Ylissians, we have our dignity as Plegian soldier to maintain, no matter our guise as bandits." Leader said. "No torture, no extra suffering, and no slaving. If you see children or mothers, anyone unarmed attempting to flee, let them escape. Feel free to take anything they have first though. If they strike you, or attack you first, kill them. Do you understand?"

"Yes Leader." The group echoed.

"Tomas, Matthew." Leader said handing him a barbed hook. "Use this grappling hook. Open the gates when you get in. Make sure not to get seen."

Luso sighed and looked up at the walls. They were slippery, wet from rain that must have come a day or maybe two days ago. With a grunt from effort, he hurled the hook towards the edge of the wall. With a small clatter it fell off the side of the wall and nearly sliced Luso's arm on its way back to the earth. Luso sighed, and breathed deeply before hurling the grapple hook. It fell a third time. Then a fourth.

Tomas glanced up and motioned for Luso to pass him the hook. The boy shrugged and handed it over.

With a single throw, the archer managed to snag the side of the wall with one of the flukes of the hook before handing the rope to Luso. After tugging the rope to make sure it was secure, Luso started the short climb up the village wall and crawled onto the narrow walkway that lined the side. Then he stared down the path. A single prone man lay on the ground, with a large bruise on the side of his head. After he checked both the man's pulse and his head wound, the boy realized that he had been hit with the grappling hook during one of his failed attempts.

A chill ran down Luso's spine as he realized how close he had been to being spotted. With an un-unnervingly familiar feeling to his actions, Luso dug through the guard's pockets, his fingers eventually coming across a ring of keys just as Tomas finished struggling up the rope.

"Can you guess where these could fit?" Luso asked.

"The key to the gates." Tomas said, clutching his bow tightly. "Or perhaps something similar. We were lucky. If you missed him, we may have had guards breathing down our neck."

Creeping alongside the narrow path, Luso slowly walked alongside the path until he reached the gate house, unlocking it with one of the keys. Within the gatehouse was a large crank of sorts, well oiled from consistent use, and completely exposed.

Slowly but surely, Luso and Tomas started to turn the crank together, resulting in the doors to the village opening inch by inch. After ten or twenty minutes of turning a crank meant for four people, Luso and Tomas panted for breath, muscles stringy and taut.

"Just a little bit further-" Tomas said.

"Eh? What- what happened!" A voice called out from outside the door. "Guards! Everyone, rally! It's the bandits! To arms! To arms!"

"They must have found the body. Matthew the gate, quickly!" Tomas muttered. "Go!"

Luso ran to the crank and tugged down on it as hard as he could. The door creaked one last time and opened just wide enough for a man to slip through.

"Are we escaping?" Luso said as he looked about the gate. "It 's awfully hard to steal from the rich if they know we're here."

"No, we have to fight." Tomas said as he nervously ran his fingers over his bow. "We can't let them take the walls and get the high ground. We'll eliminate any guards up here, guard, and if possible, destroy the staircase to prevent them from closing the doors on us. If we manage that, we'll join up with Leader."

"Wait we've been discovered! Should we really start killing them when they already know we're here? They outnumber us... Aren't we here to rob them mostly?"

"We've done this so many times Matt. This isn't the time to hesitate." Tomas said as he quickly looked out the door to the rest of the walls. As soon as he did so a pair of arrows slammed into the door of the gate room.

"Humph, at least they aren't any good at this." Tomas muttered. He drew his bow, looked out the door, and shot an arrow directly into one of the Militiamen's chest. Just two seconds later, Tomas peered out the door again, and removed another arrow from his quiver.

"Stay down!" The archer shouted.

Two seconds later the second archer dropped, an arrow embedded in the man's throat.

"Go!" Tomas motioned. "I've got you covered."

Luso nodded and rushed out the gatehouse as fast as his legs could carry him. The first few rays of sunlight started to shine over the horizon as he approached the corpses of the fallen. A few moments later he ran all the way along the wall to a wooden scaffold that the guards most likely used to access the wall. For some strange reason, not too many of them were ascending to the walls. One or two archers were climbing, but otherwise there were no one else. The villagers most likely hadn't expected the walls to be taken without notice. They secured the main supports for the scaffolds with rope, expecting that no one would be able to reach the structure without an overwhelming force. As a result, they left primary method for claiming the high ground to be easily destroyed.

"Don't hate me for this." Luso drew his iron sword and sliced the ropes in two. As the archers tumbled down four feet to the ground, Luso rationalized that at most they would get broken bones. Despite that, his gut wrenched when he heard the screams.

In the new light from the sunrise, Luso looked about from the walls to see if there were any other scaffolds to climb up to the walls. There were none.

Luso ran across the top of the walls and grabbed the grappling hook that was still dug into the support.

Tomas gave Luso a nod as he ran closer and closer to the gates itself. The archer had been standing by and firing arrows into the crowd beneath the walls.

"I can handle it up here if no other reinforcements are climbing up." Tomas said as he drew another arrow. The second Luso heard a light twang, another Ylissian beneath the walls dropped. The archer leaned forward and picked up a quiver from one of the fallen Ylissian Militiamen. "Go and help leader, as soon as possible."

Luso nodded and hurried along the top of the wall until he was directly over the gate. Then he saw why there were so few fighters that were rushing to the defense of the wall. Most if not all of the local militia were at the gate itself, holding off Leader, Garrick and Isaac, while the civilians ran off to the other side.

Leader and Garrick must have been fighting three men at a time with extreme precision and skill. With a gentle touch of his lance, Leader tripped two militia men and tore open their throats with two light taps.

While Leader was dancing about with one of the soldiers that replaced the defeated, Garrick ferociously smashed one of them he was fighting with an axe. With unrivaled brutality, he cleaved the fallen man twice, tearing the guard's already broken body into pieces.

"How much longer?" Isaac murmured. A pair of fireballs circled around the magician as he flipped through the pages of his spell tome. "Till the reinforcements arrive?"

"Soon enough."Garrick laughed. "Come on, Matt, join the party down here!"

Luso grimaced at what he was about to do. What should he do? Could he have refuse Garrick? Although the thought of killing simple militia men sickened him, he had already wounded two archers, and watched as countless others were slain. Could he turn coats, and join the other side? Even if he did, the guards wouldn't believe him, and doing so would only make enemies with the bandits. And Luso already knew that he was outmatched. He would be surrounded by foes and inevitably die.

Although it bothered him, the boy knew in his heart that the only thing he could do was fight.

Luso forced himself to breath slowly. He couldn't let himself panic. He anchored the grappling hook to the side of the gate, threw the rope over, and waited for the incoming wave of militia men to be repulsed by lance, axe and magic. When the guards left to regroup, Luso leaped onto the rope and slid all the way down.

"Good to see you Matt." Isaac said with the smallest hint of a smile.

"The walls are clear?" Leader asked.

"I cut down the scaffold the Ylissians used to access the wall." Luso said. "if they have ladders, they may be able to retake them. But Tomas is up there, and ensuring that doesn't happen."

"Good." Leader replied. He placed two fingers into his mouth and blew hard, producing a loud shrill whistle that could be heard from at least two hundred paces. The remainder of the bandit horde closed in from the forest, entering all at once through the front gate.

When the guards returned, this time, with greater numbers, it became quite apparent that the odds had become far more even. The bandit's standing by Luso's side drew their axes and their swords and grinned ferociously.

"Alright boys! Looks like we've got quite a few of them today, we can't surround and fight these guys en-mass like usual. Attack these Ylissian dogs! This time, it's one on one! Don't you dare pillage yet, save it for later!"

The bandit's moved together to face the militia. And when they moved, they moved at once. Luso felt himself be thrust forward into the front lines, not because he was actively charging towards it, but from the force of them men behind him and their desire for blood.

The first person Luso personally faced was a plain faced boy, wielding a thin bronze sword. With a shout the boy charged forward, thrusting the tip of his sword towards Luso's neck. The mercenary sidestepped the blow, knocking the weapon away with his shield, before moving in for the counterattack.

Luso should have felt something then, some hesitations at least when killing someone. He didn't. It felt normal, primal, instinctual as if he had done the action a hundred, no a thousand times. His mind reeled, but his body was apathetic.

Without even thinking, Luso cut cleanly across the man's waist slicing open the stomach causing his guts to spill out of his chest. After the cut, Luso took three quick steps to circle around his opponent and brought his sword down across the guard's shoulders.

With a groan, the man fell onto the ground.

Luso stared at the corpse for a few brief seconds, at the pool of blood that was spilling out onto the cobble stones.

That was it? It was that easy?

The glint of a spear caught Luso's attention, flying towards his face. With reflexes that were not his own Luso raised his shield, and deflected the weapon away from his face. That's when he realized how skilled Matthew must have been. That bandit must have learned all the motions of combat, not from a formal institution, but from constant life and death experience. The combat techniques he was using were not buried deep within in the previous owner's mind, nor were they the result of his own practice, but embedded in his muscle memory. Screaming a war cry, Luso charged forward and swiped across the spear thrower's neck, cleanly decapitating the man. Once again, he had killed someone and not cared. The boy shivered as he nudged the fallen head with his foot. The dead man's eyes seemed to stare straight towards him, and on the head's face was a mouth distorted with a silent scream.

"Don't look at me." Luso stared at the decapitated head of the militiaman. "Don't you dare blame me. I didn't want to do this."

"Matthew, watch out!" Isaac screamed. Luso looked up. An axe smashed into the shield Luso wore on his left arm, knocking the boy backwards. Once again his arm felt almost numb and the portions of his arm that were strapped onto the curved hunk of metal were most definitely bruised.

"Ugh." Luso said as he shook off the blow.

"Don't you dare!" Isaac said as the militia man raised his axe to strike again. "In Grima's name! Elthunder!"

Two bolts of lightning flew from the magician's palm and smashed into Luso's attacker, leaving the man convulsing on the ground.

"Matt, are you okay?" Isaac said.

"I'll be just fine." Luso said, while shivering. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

The militiamen by this point were overwhelmed by the bandits. Sure, a few of the bandits had fallen from the scuffle, but two thirds of the guards had been slain. When the survivors faced the sheer ferocity by Leader and his men with even lesser numbers then before, the guards lost hope and started to run.

"Forward!" Garrick ordered. "Leader, I'll take a few, and block the church's entrance, we won't let them steal the riches they keep in the cathedral! Isaac I'll need your help to break the gates. Loosen up the walls some, and I'll smash them clean open with a hammer."

"Matthew, keep watch by the other gate." Leader said. "Let them escape, but if you see anyone carrying something that seems of value, then... persuade them to hand it over."

At this point the mercenary was numb to it all. Where Garrick or Leader ordered, he went. There was no time to think, and there was no purpose to think. All he would do was follow.

Yes. That was the best thing he could do.

The next thing he knew, Luso was hiding in the bushes, watching as any stragglers, any wounded dragged themselves out of the town. Most of them were carrying simple things like food, water, or clothing, they had nothing of value. Then Luso heard someone behind him shout. This time, Luso had no reservations. He would not be distracted by any of his actions, nor would he show any mercy to those trying to kill him. The boy spun around and stabbed his aggressor. For a second, he breathed a sigh of relief. His attacker had been holding a knife. Most likely she had been trying to stab him. Then he saw who struck at him. A mother holding a child. When realization struck him, Luso's hands started to tremble. The mercenary leaned forward and touched the child. During his strike, he had chopped off its arm. Within moments it had died of blood loss.

"No..." Luso breathed. "I..."

He hadn't made the second mistake twice, but he felt horrible for not doing so.

The people of the village ran away from the now exposed mercenary as quickly as possible with eyes filled with fear and distrust, all while screaming in terror.

* * *

_Man this story got dark. Well, I have to make a reasonable entrance. Luso defecting twenty seconds after being inserted is sort of unrealistic. _

_Anyways, I'm considering renaming this. Anyone have any suggestions? _

_Please Review down below. It takes twelve seconds of your time, and helps me so much._


	3. Friends

A party was the only way Luso could describe it. The bandits had stormed the cathedral of Naga in the small village and broke out the casks of wine they had taken from the inn. There was much drunken singing and slurred conversation as they dug through the loot. Luso stared at it with dull eyes. How could he celebrate now of all times? Out of a sense of communal obligation, Luso stayed in the cathedral after he was handed his 'share'-a pouch of gold and a bronze sword, until Garrick and another bandit started a 'who can destroy the most effigies of Naga' contest.

Once a statue head flew across the room and almost hit him across the face, the boy decided to leave.

Luso saw the blood splash on his shoes as he walked through the streets. Every tenth step or so, he would pass the corpse of one of the guards or bandits. He looked to his left and right, seeking out where he had fought, struck and killed. He found the severed head of the guard first, and the headless body directly next to it. In actuality, there were multiple headless corpses nearby, as many of the bandits decapitated the fallen guards as a manner of ensuring that they wouldn't stand back up and return to the fight. Luso dug through the corpses and found the body that seemed to match the head the best, but still, he couldn't be certain.

Then he found the corpse of the spear thrower he cut down, who on closer inspection looked like he was in his upper teens. Due to some rubble that had collapsed onto the body, it took some effort to dig the body out of the rock and drag the corpse to the edge of town. Luso at the end of his ordeal was panting and coughing from exhaustion.

But he couldn't rest yet, there was still the woman with the child he has stabbed. Her corpse was still intact, so Luso could simply throw the body over his shoulders. All four corpses, all four people he had killed were lying together in a pile.

He had found a shovel in a shed. Now it was time to get to work. With grunts of exhaustion, Luso started to dig, and dig and dig. After ten minutes Luso stared at the hole he made. It was hardly enough for the child to fit in, much less the entire group. It would be the next day by the time he dug a hole large enough for all three of the people he killed.

Luso lowered the dead child into the grave he had already dug, and threw some dirt over it. Donning an stoic face, the boy picked up one of the larger cobble stones and dragged it over the shallow grave.

Luso looked beyond, and saw the fields that the village people had been farming. Oxen would drag huge plows creating narrow furrows in the dirt for sowers to throw seeds into. It may have not been the original purpose for them, but it could be used as an impromptu grave. Luso lowered the mother first, then the guards, ensuring that the mother had the grave closest to the child. The boy had just finished throwing dirt over the last body when he collapsed onto his knees.

What was he doing here?

How could he not care about what he had done?

Why did he feel no remorse, no crushing sense of guilt that any murderer should?

As Luso pondered these questions, another boy sat down next to him.

Tomas unstrung his bow and slid it into a leather pouch over his shoulder. When Tomas put away his quiver, he almost looked like a normal boy, one unaccustomed to killing, in stark contrast to Luso who was still had plenty of blood on his arms and chest plate.

"I've never seen someone in the group dig a grave before." Tomas said. "Are you alright Matt?"

"I'm a little tired." Luso admitted. "It feels really weird you know. I killed three people, I killed a child of all things, and I don't feel like their deaths were really important. I did what I was taught, I dug a grave, I buried them the best I could manage but I feel no different from how I did in the morning. Is there something wrong with me? God, I don't understand, what I should do. Why am I here? What am I doing here? Why is killing something I feel like I'm used to? It's so... Wrong..."

"You never really got used to it, did you? Otherwise you wouldn't have bothered." Tomas smiled. "The fact that you took the time to dig a grave shows that it meant something to you, no matter how it seems to the yourself or the others on the outside."

"Why are we killing these people?"

"We volunteered." Tomas shrugged. "Some for vengeance, others for gold and food. For whatever reason, we're here now, and we do it, as we have nothing else to do. You're not evil, just following orders."

"Why did you come?" Luso asked.

"Well, when I first started, I thought it would be fun and all." Tomas shrugged.

"Do you still feel that way?"

"If I did, would we still be having this conversation? I hate it all but if I quit, I would be hung for deserting. For the better or worse, I'm with this little squad till we return to Plegia. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that has misgivings."

"No one else does?"

"Well, I never seen anyone else have any regrets for what we are doing here. I actually started to think that I was the only one. You were actually the last person I expected to hesitate, so who knows?"

"Is that so..." Luso hesitated. What had Matthew done before he had entered his body? It almost pained him to listen to what Tomas had to say next.

"I watched you butcher Ylissians all in the same manner, by hacking them into pieces with that sword. Women, children, and men, Matt, every last one of them were unrecognizable after you were through with them. There was a reason Leader lectured you not to hunt down people without weapons." Tomas said. "When I saw you fight, it almost was like you saw them as if they weren't human. But it's good to see even the great champion of the Soothsires thinks about these kinds of things."

"Really?"

"No matter our actions, we must be ready to look back and think upon them. Words may be forgotten, but deeds will never change." Tomas said. "Come on Matt, the night's still young. Let's get something to eat, and rest before tomorrow, we have a long day ahead of us."

"Wait." Luso said. He walked over to the house of the magistrate of the town, and opened the latch leading to the gardens. He returned holding flowers, and laid them over the grave.

Then he turned about and followed Tomas back into the madness that was going on in the cathedral.

"Let's go." Luso said.

* * *

The bandits decided not to face the hassle of returning back to camp and instead spent the night in the old churches and the homes of the wealthier members of the village. Luso, Tomas, and Isaac had chosen to spend the night in a merchant's house. The home was much richer than any place Luso had personally seen before in this world, with furnishings such as feather beds, elegant paintings, golden chalices, and a fully stocked wine cellar. Naturally the first thing Isaac and Tomas did was drag up a barrel, and ask Luso to break open the top. Perhaps a bit still upset from the conversation he had with Luso, Tomas silently drunk at least seven glasses of wine before stumbling upstairs, to collapse into bed.

Isaac on the other hand drank slowly. As the magician sipped his alcohol he looked towards Luso and waved him over. "Hey, Matt? Why aren't you drinking? It's strange to say this, but you seem depressed. Usually you're the most cheerful out of all of us after wiping out a couple of Ylissian Scum,"

"Should I be happy? Are you happy about killing those people?" Luso asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"What kind of person can kill so easily, so mercilessly? A good one or a bad one?" Luso said.

"Matt, you've killed dozens of Ylissians. I lost count actually. Why is it bothering you now? Was your life and death experience with that disease so traumatic that it made you... Afraid to kill? "

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Of course. Every time I kill, it's to protect Plegia. Peace is wonderful but it is a fleeting dream. Not a soul in Ylisse desires it, so we must be prepared for it as well. Ylisse only backed off in the previous war because they bled dry, every day they had sent more and more soldiers to the front line and slaughtered our people till they had no more men to throw at us. Cornelius, the wretched king of Ylisse, personally struck at our people in refugee camps, to ruin us. They drove men to slavery to get enough money for food! The quarrel between our nations will end only when one of them are destroyed. I would rather it be Ylisse then Plegia."

Isaac stared at his goblet then drank deeply. "Of course, killing villagers is distasteful, but I suppose every little bit helps. In my opinion, we should head straight to the capital and wreak havoc there. Border towns like this mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. But if we could ruin the Shepherd's barracks, and possibly assassinate the exalted lineage, we could make them helpless before us... And I would have my revenge..." Isaac trailed off. "What am I saying, I'm drunk and out of my mind. Help me upstairs Matt, I may have trouble walking at this point."

Luso nodded and wrapped the magician's arm around his shoulders. "I'll protect you Matt, no matter what happens. We'll cut down the children of Cornelius together. They can't hold a candle to us!"

"Go to sleep Isaac." Luso shook his head, as he lowered the delirious magician into a feather bed.

Then he looked about the room. There were only two beds. Tomas had sprawled over one, and he had already lowered Isaac in the other. Luso shrugged, and found a particularly plush arm chair. He had thrown off his armor and shield, but kept his shirt on, resulting in whatever flecks of dried blood that remained on his shirt to be wiped onto the chair. At this point Luso didn't care and soon fell asleep.

The next morning came quickly for the mercenary. He woke up feeling refreshed and cheerful. The sun was shining through the window, the crows were cawing and fighting over the corpses in the streets, and Isaac and Tomas were cursing at him to shut the curtains.

"Good to see you up." Luso said to Tomas and Isaac. "How are you feeling?"

"Shut up." The archer mumbled and slammed his head onto the kitchen table. "Can't talk."

"How about you Isaac?"

"Ugh, how much did I drink last night?"

"If you have to ask that question, you drank too much." Tomas groaned.

"They have some tea in this cabinet maybe that would help some." Luso shrugged. "I could also cook some breakfast."

"Who are you and what did you do to the real Matt?" Isaac asked. "This isn't like you at all. First you balk at killing the Ylissians, now you don't run away from the kitchen. "

"Who knows?" Luso turned away.

"Cook breakfast quickly." Tomas groaned. "We'll eat on the way. Leader's going to bust in here and order us to return to camp any time."

"As usual." Isaac decided to mimic Tomas and slam his head on the table as well. "Drink as much as you want! Want to sleep off the hangover? No, we have to return to the camp!"

"It's to avoid the Shepherds, you know that..." Tomas said.

"Yeah, I get it." Isaac said.

"Smells good." Tomas murmured. "What are you making Matt?"

"I'm trying to bake something." Luso scowled at the stove. "But I can't really tell how to keep this at the right temperature."

"It's fine." Isaac groaned. "You'll get it someday."

Tomas sniffed the air. "Something's burning."

"It's on fire! It's on fire!" Luso cursed. "Damn these medieval era cooking implements!"

And so those days seem to repeat over and over again. On days where Leader assigned a raid, Luso, Isaac, and Tomas would fight, pillage, and in the aftermath the archer and magician would drink till they passed out. When they weren't sacking a town, Tomas, Isaac, or Leader would train with Luso, for the purpose of "restoring him to his original dexterity and strength." Within only three months he had gained total mastery of his body, and he no longer felt like a stranger trapped in another's body. He also learned how to manage a stove, sharpen his sword, polish his gear, as well as how to properly treat wounds with vulneraries. It was so mundane yet still so ridiculous, it seemed almost like a dream.

Then, on a day like any other day, all of that changed.

It had been like the first raid he had partaken in. Climb the walls, open the gates, and make sure one can maintain the high ground. In terms of tactics they had performed spectacularly. Unfortunately, there was one fatal mistake. Leader had ordered that no one that was not armed should be attacked, a decision that Luso and Tomas both quietly agreed with. However, it was difficult sometimes to determine who was armed and who wasn't. Leader had spared a husband and wife fleeing the burning town, however, the man who was escaping was not aware of his mercy. Suddenly drawing a hidden knife the husband stabbed Leader from behind. The blade pierced clean through the lanceman's chest plate, and sliced into the bandit's heart. It was beyond any treatment.

In Plegian culture the former commander was considered to be still leading whatever unit they were in until proper funeral rites were completed. As a result the group fell into disarray after Leader's death with almost half of the bandits missing at any given time to go about pillaging and terrorizing the countryside and the other half was drunk. In the end, it was Luso, Garrick and Tomas who ended up actually hurling Leader's corpse onto a stack of wood and setting it aflame.

As Garrick was Leader's right hand man for as long as anyone could remember, he was a shoo-in the new commander of the Soothsires. The rest of the bandits decided to have a little tournament of sorts to determine who was the strongest midst them, to figure out who was most likely to be promoted to the new second in command. Surprisingly Luso did fairly well, ending at about the third or fourth strongest fighters in the bandit horde. Who won? Isaac was able to easily defeat everyone else with but a few murmured words and a wave of his hand.

But in the end, it didn't really matter. Garrick was the new Leader of the Soothsires, and quite a few things changed when he took power.

On his initial address Garrick had said. "I am the leader now. We're here to terrorize Ylissians, so we'll become demons to them. We're not soldiers anymore, so why should we act like them? Attack indiscriminately; we don't need to follow any restraint. Your new leader also has some good news for you! I formed a contract with slavers, on the far side of Plegia. If you all are willing to spend the effort we'll make a good deal more coin then we did before. Open season, Hah!"

Tomas paled at the announcement. Luso looked away in disappointment. Isaac simply tilted his head.

Things really were to drift away from what they were before.

* * *

_Do I really have to put another disclaimer, that I don't own anything? Yes? Ok. I don't own anything. Intelligent Systems owns everything. _

_Well, please Review. Reviews are one of the main motivators to get someone to write. _


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